Alive by Midnight
by SaturdayAngel
Summary: Alia meets two brothers; Stefan and Damon. Strange things start happening, and Alia instantly knows who's behind them. Because she has a secret. Because she can read minds.
1. Prologue

Alive by Midnight

A Vampire Diaries parody by SaturdayAngel

Prologue

I'm Alia Lake, a seventeen year-old girl with the special ability of reading minds.

Yeah, I read all about it in books and it sounds cliché, but when fiction meets reality, you will see it's not all that simple.

Especially when you meet someone with a big secret…


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I walked into my class, only to find everything the same as before.

"Hey, Alia!" I heard my best friend call. I turned to look at her, standing at the end of the hallway, waving at me, when my eyes caught a glimpse of a boy with black hair and green eyes coming inside from the double doors.

Suddenly my head started pounding with all the emotions pressing on me from all sides.

'He's so hot…' 'Did he just look at me?' 'I heard his name was Stefan Salvatore… how romantic!' 'Ah, here comes my new boyfriend.'

I pressed my fingers on my ears, knowing it wouldn't make a difference. I had this feeling every so often when something exciting happened, but I thought I'd learned to control it. I had to control it, in order to live a normal life, capable of attending all kinds of social events. But now I was caught completely off guard, and all the thoughts around me rushed inside my head as if I had a black hole inside my skull.

"Alia? Alia, are you okay?" my friend asked, kneeling beside me. Until that moment I hadn't noticed that I'd fell on my knees, shutting my eyes.

Now suspicious glances and new thoughts started filling my head.

'Is she okay?' 'What's her problem?' 'What just happened?' 'Is it because of the new guy?' 'Is she showing off?' 'Attention seeker.'

I took a slow breath, imagining a concrete wall around my head, blocking all the thoughts away. Slowly, the sounds dimmed, until they all disappeared. I looked up at Claire, my best friend, and managed a smile.

"I'm better," I muttered as she helped me to get up.

"What happened just now?" she asked, her eyes reflecting worry. "Do you need to see the nurse?"

I shook my head, and then moaned as my temples began throbbing. "Just my usual migraines."

Claire pressed her lips and nodded, determined to hold my arm until I reached my seat. I sat down, throwing my bag off my shoulder and starting to take my books out.

Mr. Rodriguez, our history teacher, entered the classroom, barely balancing his body. He stood in front of the white board and cleared his throat so that everyone would look up at him.

"Good morning everybody," he said with a smile, "today I would like to introduce you to our new student, Stefan Salvatore."

The boy with green eyes and black hair stood beside Mr. Rodriguez, looking relaxed and amused as he watched his new classmates. He wore a black leather jacket, black jeans, and a white shirt. And I confess, I thought he just looked gorgeous. Stefan's eyes shone like emeralds against his light skin, and his lips were perfectly parted, revealing a glimpse of his white teeth. He had a face any sculptor could die for.

I caught a glimpse of Claire, sitting beside me, gaping at the new guy. I elbowed her, pointing out that she could at least try to be more subtle. But she just gave me a weary smile in return.

My eyes locked on Stefan's as Mr. Rodriguez said "Stefan would you like to share something about yourself with us?"

Stefan smiled, "Of course," he replied. "I could answer any questions you have."

A blonde girl's arm shot up, and Mr. Rodriguez roiled his eyes before picking her.

"Where are you from?" the girl asked, surprising me since the question in her mind was 'what kind of girls are you into?'. I lowered my guard, trying to hear Stefan's thoughts.

"I'm from Italy, but I have traveled a lot throughout my life," he replied. Even as I started to hear the thoughts of my classmates, I couldn't reach Stefan's. I lowered my guard as far as possible now, hoping to get at least something out.

I didn't know I was in for a surprise.

'I'm certainly not into blondes,' he thought, as if replying the question in Stacy's mind. But as a teenager, naturally Stefan would check her out.

"Where do you live?" someone else asked.

"At a house nearby," Stefan replied casually, picturing the house in his mind. I knew this house; it used to be a boarding house.

"Do you have a brother, or better, a twin?" Claire asked. I rolled my eyes at her but she ignored me.

Now I couldn't hear a thing coming from Stefan's mind. "Not any worth mentioning."

I arched an eyebrow, but he didn't seem to notice, not that it was any of my business. For the next ten minutes, almost everyone in the class apart from me asked questions. More than half of those questions were extremely stupid, and they treated Stefan as if he was a celebrity.

"Any other questions?" Mr. Rodriguez asked finally. When no one said anything, he motioned Stefan to sit, and he started one of his never-ending lectures.

Stefan sat at the far end of the room, at the only empty spot. During the next forty minutes, Claire sent me messages on how hot she thought he was. Not that I needed any details, her mind had already filled me in.

When the bell finally rang, I stormed out of the room, out of that shallow nonsense, and headed for the cafeteria to get myself a snack. I leaned on the counter, looking for the lady in charge. A couple stood a few feet away from me. I noticed the girl in an instant; Lilly Webb. She had brown hair that reached her thigh, and a grin stuck on her face. I never knew she had a boyfriend.

When I glanced at the guy, I couldn't recognize him. He had silky black hair and eyes that reminded me of black pearls. He wore a black leather jacket, black jeans, a black shirt, and black boots. He had light skin, and when our eyes met, I almost lost myself. They looked endless, in perfect harmony with his rosy lips. Stefan had a face sculptors could die for. This guy looked like a Greek God. He smirked, and I realized I had been staring.

"H-hey Alia," Lilly stammered. "I didn't know you were here."

I smiled, "I was just about to pick something up. But I guess Miss Gibbs isn't here."

"Oh, she left a minute ago," Lilly explained, trying to hide her blush. "But…um…yeah."

I nodded, pressing my lips together, "Yeah… um, I'll see you later, then." Lilly smiled.

"Oh, by the way," she said, her eyes growing wide. "This is Damon; he's new."

I got that, I added mentally. But instead, I smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Damon."

The smirk didn't exactly leave his face as he replied "The pleasure is mine, Alia."

I left that moment, thinking that this Damon guy had something weird about him. I wished I had lowered my guards to hear his thoughts, but I thought of that only after I managed to put a great distance between us.

I didn't remember the rest of the day, as my car pulled into the parking lot of my family's mansion.

"Good evening, Miss Alia," our butler greeted me at the doorstep. "May I take your bag to your room?"

"It's fine, Theodor. I can handle it," I replied, stepping inside the house.

"Hey sweetie," I heard my mother's voice calling from inside the living room. "How was your day?" I hated it when my mother used her posh-rich-lady voice.

"Weird," I replied. My voice had sounded deep and awkward.

"What's wrong, dear?" she asked. "Is something bothering you?"

I shook my head and stepped inside the living room to find my mother sipping a cup of tea with a friend. I lost count of my parents' friends; I didn't know the number of shallow suck-ups in the world.

"I'm fine, mu—mother, I just… am, very tired. Good evening. I'm going to my room." I gave her and her friend a small bow before leaving the room.

"Ah, teenagers… my son is the same age as your daughter…. They are all the same," I heard the lady say.

"Lady Floyd, I am sincerely worried about Alia. She has been acting weird these last few days…"

"It is alright, Lady Lake. I am sure they shall find the right path some day."

I muted their sounds and went up to my room located on the second floor. I threw myself on the bed, thinking about the second half of the day.

I went to French, art and drama classes, together with maths and science. I shared history, English and maths with Stefan. I shared drama, science and English with Damon. But I hadn't spoken a single word with neither of them.

That was good….

I think? At least I hoped so… something just didn't feel right.

Suddenly, my phone began ringing in my pocket, playing the melody of Marchin On by One Republic. I took it out, looking at the writing on the screen.

'Unknown Number'.

I hesitated before picking it, but then decided it might make my day.

"Hello?"

"Is this Aria Lake?" asked the person on the other side of the line.

"Yes, it's me," I replied.

"This is Stefan Salvatore. I got your number from your friend, Claire." My heart skipped a beat before he said. "She's right here next to me, unfortunately she's not in the condition to speak. I think you might want to… come here. We are in front of the school gates… all of us."

"What… what's happening?" I asked, my voice cracking at the end.

"I think you should see this yourself." He hung up, leaving me there with my thoughts and my worries.

I scurried down the stairs, then inside the living room.

"Mum, I mean, mother, there is this...emergency…in school, and they are calling me there….I…I have to go," I stammered and headed for the door before my mother had a chance to object or ask further. Because I didn't know what I could say.

I slid inside my Alfa Romeo Spider and hit the pedal as hard as I could, which gave me a head start and a satisfying roar from the engine.

I reached the school gates and the guard opened it for me. I jumped off my car and ran in the direction where I spotted my best friend Claire almost drowning in her tears, with Stefan Salvatore kneeling beside her, trying to soothe her.

"Stefan!" I shouted. Stefan's head shot up, his eyes meeting mine. "What is going on here?"

Stefan shook his head "Your brother…" he looked at her, and then we both took a few steps away from her. "He was murdered."

Murdered? Who would have murdered Richard?

I felt tears sting the back of my eyes as realization caught up with me. My best friend's ex crush... my brother… a human being had died!

I stomped my foot on the concrete and a jolt of pain went through my leg.

Richard shouldn't have died! It's so unfair. Does this guy…or girl…or IT, yeah, does IT know how many people IT affects by doing this? Why? For pleasure?

A sociopath. Only a sociopath would do this.

And right there and then, I swore.

I swore that I'd find the person who caused us so much pain, and make him pay for it…

With my own hands.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day I woke up and found my mother speaking with my father…in the kitchen. The truth is, my parents never went in the kitchen, because they considered it a very dirty place. Yeah, so you see this is as weird as things could get.

After the death of my brother, yesterday both of them had a very tough night. I'm not even mentioning the number of phones I had to answer in that grief-stricken situation and mumble 'Uhuh, yeah, my parents can't talk…sure I'll tell them you called. Uhuh, buh-bye.'

But finding them in the kitchen this morning had the biggest impact on me. I crept to the door and tried to get something out of their conversation.

"Richard, my poor boy… he loved this cake so much… I remember how I'd made one for him on his third birthday…" I heard my mother say. My lips slowly parted into a gape, but the lump in my throat erased any probability of making sound.

"Yes, and remember I helped you that day, to prepare the table and the decorations…" after my father said that, my mother broke into sobs.

I shook my head, refusing to believe it. I didn't even feel like going inside that kitchen and saying good morning. I just wanted to get out of the house as quickly as I could, so that I could at least have some normal experience this day.

My home no longer felt like a home, not that it did before my brother's death. But now things had turned completely upside down, making me a stranger to everything that lived here. At school hardly anything could turn around over a night, due to the large number of individuals that liked their life. But it still scared me. It felt as if everything I knew was hanging on a vulnerable thread that could rip apart any second.

I sighed, deciding I would just go out of the house before my parents saw me awake. I didn't think that they would notice my absence.

I arrived at school parking lot ten minutes later and found Claire waiting for me with Paige. I got out of my car and locked it, walking up to my friends.

"Hey there," I said, trying to sound casual.

"How are you?" asked Paige. "I'm so sorry about Richard… he was so young, so alive! I just don't understand why someone would do this to him!"

I chuckled, "Trust me, no one does." Paige shook her head and then hugged me, leaving Claire alone, staring blankly at something way beyond our level of thinking.

Levels of thinking…

This is something I am very much familiar with. There are three levels of thinking I have experienced, and the third level of thinking is the deepest level of thinking. Almost nobody can use the three levels of thinking. Many people just use the first level of thinking, and rarely some use the second level of thinking. This happens when you can do two things at the same time, like answering a question on your homework paper at the same time as dialing a number on your cell.

But doing three things at the same time doesn't mean you are a third level thinker. It still qualifies as level two.

First level thinkers just think and do things, just like everyone else. That doesn't mean they are shallow, but their thoughts are on the surface and very easy to reach.

Second level thinkers are a little bit more complex than that. They think things out a little bit more in detail, and they go only mere inches deeper than the first level. They have the mind capacity to manage two things at a time because they have enough space to spare both things enough thought. The two levels are almost the same, but reaching level two takes a hell of a practice.

I haven't met any third level thinkers so far, apart from myself. Third level thinkers think things through from the inside and from the surface, reaching out to the deeper meaning of every action taken by the things surrounding them. So much that even if they can't do it physically like me, they can make true predictions on the thoughts of the people around them. I, on the other hand, can directly hear their thoughts. Which is what makes me so weird, but no one knows about it.

Third level thinkers are great at strategy, and they excel at trick questions. Shortly, they do anything first and second level thinkers can do, with a bonus of thinking very deep.

And for a moment, just a moment, Claire was about to reach the third level when Paige screamed.

Both of us turned to look at her, and then we turned our gaze on the direction she was looking. I saw Stefan Salvatore sliding out of a wonderful red car, locking it with a swift move, and then climbing the stairs up to the school building.

"Damn it, that guy is so freaking hot!" Paige moaned, and we both shot her a glare. "What?" Paige exclaimed, looking at me, and then at Claire.

"Seriously? I thought something happened to you," snapped Claire. She turned on her heel and following the example of Stefan, she went inside.

"What's with her?" Paige asked. I shook my head.

"She's having a hard time," I replied and slowly started walking on the direction Claire just left. "I don't think we should leave her alone."

We went inside and I checked the schedule to see which lesson we had next.

"English," Paige muttered behind me. "God, that's boring."

I shrugged, "Not if you have something to get out of that class," I replied. "I mean, I know the E-prime sucks and so on, but you might use it if you plan on becoming an author."

Paige chuckled, "Yeah, like that's ever going to happen."

I rolled my eyes at her and turned on my heel, heading for the English room. Mr. Trimmer had already arrived in the classroom and he was looking through his papers. I double checked the time, assuring myself that the bell hadn't rang yet.

"Alia!" Claire shouted across the room as a dozen of heads shot up. "Come, sit here."

I nodded at Claire, giving her a smile, and Paige followed me as we took the seats beside her.

"So what's with the sudden change of air?" I asked her, regretting it the moment it was out, since I shouldn't have been triggering her negative mood.

"Oh, it's nothing," and then Claire leaned my way to whisper in my ear, "Stefan Salvatore just said 'hi' to me!"

I started laughing as Claire giggled beside me. This was really ridiculous, but I still loved my friend for managing to be so light hearted even if a minute ago she almost reached the third level of thinking.

I'm glad that she didn't, actually, because then I would have to pay a lot of effort to see through her thoughts. Now I could see how she day-dreamed about her classmate sitting only a few chairs away from her.

Stefan caught my gaze and gave me a rueful smile, "How are you?" he asked.

I managed a satisfying smile saying I'm-not-fine-but-thanks-for-asking-let's-just-pretend-I'm-fine. "I'm fine, thank you," I replied almost mechanically, as if I was talking to one of my mum's friends.

Stefan nodded, "That's nice to hear. Remember, Alia, I'm here whenever you need me."

I smiled, this time for real, "Thanks," I said. "So how are you?" I asked, trying to change the subject. A hot guy spoke to me… but out of pity for what happened to my brother. Great.

Stefan shook his head, "Fine," he replied, looking at the white board. He said only one word, but the way he said it made a shudder go through my body. He'd put so much force and distance in it that it felt like a slap on my face.

He didn't say another word after that, and I tried to concentrate away from him, when something else got in the way. A boy dressed completely in black clothes and who had black hair sat on the empty chair between me and Stefan, giving me a charming smile.

"Nice to see you again, Alia," Damon spoke with a voice that made my heart skip a beat. His warm breath brushed my cheek and I felt myself blush, looking into his eyes.

"Hi Damon," I said. How else could a girl speak to a player? Just yesterday I had seen him kissing Lilly, and now this?

"I've heard about last night…" Damon said, this time his voice tinged with sorrow. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

His eyes locked on mine as my vision blurred. I blinked rapidly and smiled, "It would help a lot if you knew who did it," I told him.

Damon's eyes hardened, but his face stayed the same, "The police are doing their best," he said, trying to satisfy me with this answer.

I nodded, "Yeah, well, see, their best is not enough."

And then Damon turned to Stefan, "Well, hello, brother."

My eyebrows shot up as Stefan turned around to look at Damon, giving him a stern look. "Damon," he said. "I didn't know you were in town."

Damon gave him a naughty smile, "I arrived yesterday, hadn't you noticed?" he told Stefan, his voice sounding innocent.

"I suspected," Stefan replied shortly. I noticed that he had made his hands into fists inside the pockets of his jacket.

"Well, looks like we're in for a lot of fun," Damon said, emphasizing on the words 'we're', 'lot' and 'fun'.

"You understanding of fun, Damon," Stefan said, "Does not match mine."

Damon chuckled, and then turned to face the white board ignoring both me and Stefan. Stefan's eyes met mine while I gaped, and I mouthed "You two are brothers?"

Stefan nodded in return, and then he exhaled, shaking his head as he turned to face the white board like his brother. I followed their example, with almost a million thoughts in my head.

I recalled yesterday's history class.

'_Do you have a brother, or better, a twin?'_

'_Not any worth mentioning'…_

What could he have meant by that?

I didn't know… but something inside me told me that I was about to find out…


End file.
